Chapter four hundred and thirty seventh calculation
Seeing everyone's worried faces, Cui Yonghui continued: "Yang Fan is extremely hateful. He is always against us. We must get rid of him as soon as possible."
Zheng Kai sighed: "We can think of it, but the emperor can't think of it. The emperor tacitly allowed the boy to recruit so many guards, and he obviously also wanted to protect that bastard."
"If we act rashly, I'm afraid we will fall into the trap of that guy Yang Fan."
"What's more, that kid's martial arts are very good. Last time that kid was assassinated, the crossbow only injured him. Obviously, we need to think of a foolproof plan."
Wang Lun made a worried analysis: "No matter how good Yang Fan's martial arts is, he is not the most terrifying. As long as he is a mortal, he can be dealt with."
"Our family has been inherited for hundreds or even thousands of years and has not collapsed. Who doesn't have some dead warriors with strong martial arts skills?"
"We used to always say that a century-old dynasty and a thousand-year-old family may change now."
"Once His Majesty Li Er carries out the reform of the imperial examination and the imperial court gets rid of the shackles of our family, then we can only gradually disappear in the long river of history."
After hearing this, Cui Yonghui was a little worried, but he still said confidently: "Don't worry, everyone, I'm afraid it won't be that easy to implement these measures."
Zheng Kai asked in confusion: "What does Brother Cui mean by this? Is there any good way?"
Cui Yongjian smiled coldly and said: "Now, whether it is the pen, ink, paper and inkstone business, or the printing and rubbing of books, the most advanced technology is concentrated in a few of our workshops."
"If the imperial court wants to mass-produce imperial examination books, it will definitely buy paper from the market. As long as we cover the paper in our hands and prevent it from flowing into the market, the imperial court will have to purchase it through other channels at a high price."
"It's hard for a clever woman to make a meal without rice. The court has no paper. If you want to produce books, it's just a mirror."
"Besides, whether it's paper, pen, inkstone, or printing of paper and books, the imperial court's various crafts may not be able to surpass ours."
"As long as we secretly obstruct every aspect from production to sales, the court's expenses will inevitably be extremely high. With the current taxation of the court, it will not be able to support it for long."
"In addition, we can also stop them from raw materials. Even the price of paper, pens, inkstones and books used by the imperial court will far exceed ours."
"If there is no money to support it, these policies will be self-defeating. The court will have no choice but to delegate these powers to us. Isn't it going to be up to us to set the price at that time?"
After listening to Cui Yonghui’s analysis, everyone’s eyes couldn’t help but light up!
Lu Shanchen even complimented: "Brother Cui's analysis is reasonable. The imperial court's production technology is inherently poor and the cost is much higher than ours."
"As long as we block them at every link, the production costs for the imperial court will be too high. Let's see how long they can hold up."
"When the court runs out of money, it will still beg us for help. What we want to do is not our business."
Zheng Kai heard their conclusive words and asked with some confusion: "Brother Cui, why are you so sure that the imperial court's production costs must be very high? Is there any inside information?"
Cui Yonghui smiled calmly and said firmly: "Don't worry, everyone, the news is absolutely accurate."
"According to the information revealed by the Wu brothers, that boy Yang Fan actually emptied his entire family fortune for the sake of fame."
"Moreover, His Majesty Li Er offered to sell books at half price, but Wei Zheng refused on the grounds that the treasury tax was insufficient. It was just that the emperor was dazzled by the achievements in front of him and insisted on going his own way."
Wang Lun even laughed, clapped his hands and said, "Then let's work together to let the emperor know that our family is not so easy to bully..."
As a result, several major aristocratic families discussed with each other how to act.
But what people from these aristocratic families didn't know was that the imperial court not only had cheap papermaking technology.
The raw materials only require some grass, bamboo and wood, which can be found everywhere in the Tang Dynasty.
Not to mention movable type printing,
The cost of books was reduced to a minimum, but they were all confused by the illusion created by Gang Yang Fan.
Even the writing brushes and inkstones, under Yang Fan's deliberate instructions, have been continuously transported to Junyangfang.
Although Yang Fan was calculating mentally and unintentionally, several aristocratic families had no idea.
After discussions between several major aristocratic families, each aristocratic family began to purchase a large amount of various raw materials, paper, pens, inkstones and other things around Chang'an City and even throughout the Tang Dynasty.
So much so that the purchase price was more than half a percent higher than the original sale price.
In order to ensure that these things would not be acquired by the imperial court, major aristocratic families even used many shameless methods.
They did not hesitate to threaten and intimidate some aristocratic families and merchants to cooperate with them.
As a result, the prices of various school supplies circulating in the market have reached their peak, causing all scholars to complain.
Just as the aristocratic family was making various obstructions, the imperial court also began to take action.
Yang Fan was responsible for printing the Four Books and Five Classics, as well as Yang's Enlightenment and Yang's Arithmetic.
Yang Fan handed over these tasks to Wang Xuance and carried them out secretly.
After all, Yang Fan still feels that Junyangfang is the safest because there is very little movement of people there.
Especially the key steps, such as the fonts for movable type printing, and the printed products.
Yang Fan directly asked the workers to live and eat in the workshop to prevent leaks.
Therefore, with the cheating printing and rubbing process of movable type printing, the speed of printing various books took off immediately.
Wang Xuance followed Yang Fan's instructions and divided the workers into three shifts, printing non-stop day and night.
Nearly 5,000 books were printed in one day, and as the proficiency increased, the output became larger and larger.
In just a few days, nearly 50,000 undergraduate examination books were printed.
If people from the aristocratic family knew about it, their jaws would definitely drop.
Today is the twelfth year of Zhenguan. The entire Tang Dynasty has a population of more than three million households, and the total population is about 30 million, as registered by the government.
Although many of them are unregistered and belong to illegal households, the total population is only over 40 million.
Among these people, very few are literate, and even fewer are scholars!
Calculated based on the ratio of one scholar among one hundred people, the number of scholars in the entire Tang Dynasty was only about 400,000.
There are only tens of thousands of people who have not passed the exams, and if you include some enlightened children, the number is at most 300,000.
Calculated based on the number of one set per person, only 300,000 sets of books are needed to meet the initial demand.
Nowadays, with the printing quantity of Junyangfang, it only takes one month to meet the demand.
Of course, 300,000 sets, Yang Fan calculated, can definitely meet the world's needs in one and a half months.
Moreover, the number of 300,000 sets was calculated based on the maximum demand among the scholars of the Tang Dynasty. The actual demand should be far lower than this number.
Therefore, half a month later, the first batch of imperial examination books and school supplies were sold in Chang'an City and surrounding areas.
Under normal circumstances, everyone can purchase books at sales points everywhere.
Of course, this is theoretically speaking.
If someone who doesn't read or has ulterior motives buys it, it would be a bit nervous.
In order to ensure that poor students can buy imperial examination books, the Information Department issued regulations.
Anyone who purchases books needs to be registered. After purchasing one set, he or she cannot purchase a second set within three months.
This is also a solution that the Information Department came up with out of fear of someone maliciously purchasing books.
After all, these books were "subsidized" by the imperial court.
Moreover, for the sake of fairness, the imperial court would distribute the books printed from Junyangfang in proportion to the population of each state in the Tang Dynasty every day.
Every day, imperial examination books and study supplies will be distributed from Junyangfang to various districts in the world until the daily quota is used up.
It has to be said that the Information Department has been very thoughtful, fully considering fairness and justice, and has tried its best to eliminate the possibility of human interference.
Of course, what shocks students all over the world the most is that the prices of imperial examination books and school supplies are much lower than some time ago.
The price of a complete set is only sixty copper coins.
You must know that this set includes the Four Books and Five Classics as well as more than ten books on Yang's Enlightenment and Arithmetic.
On average, the price of a copy is less than five guan.
You must know that the Four Books and Five Classics and other imperial examination books previously sold by the aristocratic family cost more than ten guan each.
Recently, there has been a continuous surge, and the price has increased six times, and a book has reached dozens of copies. This is also the reason why students all over the world are complaining.
Because many people feel desperate about this price.
Nowadays, the price of imperial examination books and school supplies sold by the Information Department is actually lower than the normal price of the family.
It is only about 1/3 of the original price, and less than 1/10 after the price increase.
For readers, this is simply good news, it is so cheap!
This price, according to the court, may not even cover the cost.
Sure enough, His Majesty the Emperor kept his word, and the imperial court was losing money printing and selling various imperial examination books and school supplies.
With this discovery, countless poor students were moved to tears.
They vowed to study hard, serve the imperial court, and live up to the emperor's expectations of them.
In fact, His Majesty Li Er feels that the prices of these books and school supplies are already ridiculously high.
Because His Majesty Li Er knows how low the cost of these books is.
It was only because of Yang Fan's strong persuasion that it was sold so expensively.
In order to make the aristocratic family bleed a lot, the scholars who bought the books in the early stage could only lose some money.
Of course, Yang Fan also knew that these things were a bit expensive.
The purchasing power of money during the Tang Dynasty was still very high, with one penny equivalent to about 1.5 yuan in later generations.
A book costs five guan, which is equivalent to six to seven thousand yuan. This is absolutely a sky-high price.
This is a month's salary for a fifth-grade official.
However, in ancient times, scholars were really the preserve of the rich.
Of course, with papermaking and movable type printing, the cost of a book was only about fifty cents.
Because the raw materials and labor costs are very low, and the expansion boards can be used repeatedly, a lot of trouble is avoided.
Therefore, even if you only sell about five guan, the profit will be more than a hundred times.
Of course, this was Yang Fan's comprehensive consideration in order to plot against the aristocratic family.
Originally, Yang Fan wanted to increase the price, but His Majesty Li Er vetoed it.
His Majesty Li Er felt that a hundred times the profit was enough, and he did this just to plot against the family.
Otherwise, His Majesty Li Er still wants to maintain absolute fairness and justice, as long as the cost price is not tainted with the smell of copper.
If Yang Fan hadn't argued with reason, His Majesty Li Er might have had another fake sale!
However, Li Er also knew that the family would never give up, so he set the current price.
He guessed right!
At this time, several aristocratic families gathered together again, with various school supplies and imperial examination books in front of them.
Cui Yonghui picked up various exquisitely bound books and couldn't believe his eyes.
This is a book worth five guanqian!
In everyone's impression, books worth five thousand dollars must be shoddy and of extremely poor quality.
However, after purchasing the books, I discovered that this set of books is extremely beautiful.
The paper used in books is not only white, but also very thin.
The toughness and writing feel are actually a higher level than the original rice paper, which is incredible to everyone.
In terms of papermaking and printing, the Lu family was absolutely No. 1 in the past.
Even the books originally printed by various aristocratic families would have blurry handwriting because the paper was rough and could absorb ink.
But this set of enlightenment and imperial examination books published by the Imperial Press Department.
Not only is the paper white and flawless, but the printed content is extremely clear, with no signs of ink spreading.
It is simply several times better than the books originally printed by their family.
This set of books, both in terms of the quality of the paper and the clarity of the printing, is superior to the books sold by various aristocratic families.
It’s really hard to compare people to death, and you have to throw away goods when comparing goods!
Looking at the various books and school supplies in his hands, Cui Yonghui couldn't help but ask Lu Shanchen:
"Brother Lu, among our family, your family is mainly engaged in paper and printed books. The paper and printing quality of these books seem to be better than the books printed by your family, and the pens and inks and other school supplies are also better than ours.
The ones at my store are much better."
Staring at the books in front of him, Lu Shanchen sighed secretly and said helplessly:
"Brother Cui, you don't need to give me face. The quality of these books is not only better than the books sold by our Lu family. This Marquis of Zhongyi is really good at mastering such exquisite printing technology."
Zheng Kai on the side couldn't help but ask: "Brother Cui, Brother Lu, how do you think the various books and school supplies are better than those at your home?"
"Also, what is the approximate cost price of these books and school supplies?"
As the saying goes, only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win every battle. When it comes to printing books and paper, pen, ink, paper and inkstone, Cui and Lu are the most proficient.
Cui Yonghui spoke first: "The imperial court sells this brush for twenty cents each, and the cost is at least thirty cents... and the inkstone is about the same!"
Later, Lu Shanchen went on to say: With the technology of papermaking and book printing, our Lu family can actually print such books.uu Kanshu www.uukanshu.com"
"It's nothing more than soaking the raw materials for a longer time...and making all the processes perfect."
"The same goes for printing books, the time and cost required will increase significantly."
Everyone present heard what the two said clearly.
This means that the Cui family and the Lu family can actually produce this kind of books, but the cost is too high and they cannot be mass-produced.
However, what the Information Department seeks is perfection, and the costs required will increase exponentially.
The Cui family and the Lu family have an absolute say in printing books and various school supplies.
The two of them said the cost was high, so that must be the case.
However, these aristocratic families have forgotten that Yang Fan is a guy who often creates miracles.
These aristocratic families did not realize that the Cui family and the Lu family actually looked at the problem entirely within the scope of their own crafts.
It did not consider whether there were new processes that could save costs.
The reason for this is also because the pretentious nature of the family is at work, and it is all caused by the arrogance of being superior.
They believe that what they have is the most advanced in the world.
Zheng Kai asked again: "Brother Lu, can you predict the approximate cost of this book?"
Lu Shanchen said firmly: "The cost of this book is at least about ten dollars."
Hearing this price, the people from the aristocratic families present were secretly shocked and marveled at the imperial court's generosity.
The cost is ten guan, and only five guan are sold. Does the imperial court really have so much money to spend?
This emperor really didn't care about anything for his reputation and dealing with his family.